Black and White, Bond and Free, Male and Female

The rather long title comes from the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 26:33, which describes whom Christ invites to come to him:

and [the Lord] inviteth [all the children of men] to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.

I use the 4 simplest polygrams (stars), to represent the variety of peoples in Christ’s invitation. Each polygram approaches the center directly (parallel/perpendicular to the horizon) and at an angle (one of the 45 degree variations) representing the many ways we come to Christ. As each star approaches the center it passes through its own unique transformation but finds itself, in the end, more like its neighbors than it may have realized. And ultimately, all who come to Christ find that He was with us all along, hidden between us and holding us together.

This is the first piece where I use the octagram, or 8 pointed star, to represent Christ. Geometry gives us 2 regular octagrams, one of which I use to encompass the entire piece and a modified version of the other which I use in the center. Christ is our guiding light while he is also all around us.

This piece is 40 inches high, 33 inches wide, and 3/4 of an inch thick.